


An Afternoon on the Ice

by dan_vs92



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: All Ships more implied, Alternate Universe - Relativity Falls, Gen, Gift Fic, M/M, They are nothing more then crushes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-28
Updated: 2017-04-28
Packaged: 2018-10-24 19:49:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,071
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10748613
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dan_vs92/pseuds/dan_vs92
Summary: Fiddleford invites the Stan twins to go ice skating with him





	An Afternoon on the Ice

**Author's Note:**

  * For [memyself](https://archiveofourown.org/users/memyself/gifts).



The lake had frozen over a few weeks before halting any business Tate Mcgucket would usually get in his little tackle shop. Without the extra income coming in from his shop, things became tighter around the Mcgucket house, the old furnace didn’t warm the house up like it should and there was no money to get anything extra to warm their home up for the winter.

Fiddleford ended up spending a large chunk of his time down at the Mystery Shack with his only friends to escape the cold that had settled around his home.

Madame Mystery or as she constantly reminded Fiddleford to call her, Grauntie Mabel, had taken notice to Fiddleford’s seemingly permeant residency in her establishment. That morning as she was turning over the open sign for the gift shop she found the half frozen little boy waiting patiently outside, just as she was about to ask why he didn’t knock she took notice of her first customer of the morning standing beside her newest grandnephew (as far as she was concerned anyway). 

Tyler Cutebiker was standing next to Fiddleford, talking his ear off. Both bundled up tight in the warm sweaters, mittens, hats and scarves Mabel had knit for them herself making her heart ache. 

She ushered them into the gift shop with a wave of her arm, chastising the boys for not knocking and staying outside in this weather waiting for the shop to open as if they were the normal suckers. She had insisted Dan take the week off so he didn’t end up breaking any of her Christmas ornaments she had the boys painting the last few nights (Fidds being the only one to enjoy the activity while her blood nibblings only groaned in annoyance), so it was quite the shock to see one of his friends here at all but a pleasant one. 

“I thought ya did all yer Christmas shopping during the summer,” Mabel said directed her smug grin at Tyler who was beginning to fidget under her direct gaze,” Did I wait up till midnight for ya to decide on a gift for nothing?”

His face began to full on flush at her playful ribbing as she began setting up the shop for the day, Fidds rushing to her side to assist the woman in her morning routines and flushing a deep crimson as she gently sat him down behind the counter and lovingly took off his snow-covered scarf and hat and wrapped him in a blanket she always kept under the cash register, just in case.

“I was thinkin’ of taking the kids skating down at the lake with Dan today,” Tyler began flushing as Mabel began unwinding his snow-covered scarf and offering him a warm handmade blanket as well, “I ran into Fidds down there this morning and he was quite the skater, but he was dead set on gettin’ the twins this morning before helping me teach Dan how to use his blades…” 

“You boys settle in then and warm up, I’ll get you some hot chocolate while I get the bums I call nephews out of bed already. Can you believe they were watching those phony ghost shows long after you left last night Fidds? I thought I would never get any sleep once they started squabbling about how legit they were and who should have the remote…”

Fidds smiled brightly at her exaggerated tale of the twins fighting as she prepared him and Tyler some warm hot chocolate with a bit too much whip cream and sprinkles on top that Tyler kept trying to deny her offer of, not wanting that much sugar in his system after the last three cavities he got from visiting the woman. 

She spun quite the tall tale as she tucked them both up with blankets in the warmer living room, pushing a protesting Tyler down in the recliner and a very willing Fidds into her comfortable rocking chair. 

It was very easy to capture the twins in his mind even with her off, mocking imitations of them both and over exaggerated details. She fussed with his hair for a minute longer and he sank into her touch, her warm hands gently caressing his cheeks as she gave him a warm kiss on the forehead. Her hand-crafted perfume smelling just like he expected every loving grandmother to smell like, fresh baked cookies and her smile and caring hands helping him create the lie he belonged her with her, in this family. Finally belonged somewhere, love and wanted, and maybe this wouldn’t end when the twins once more departed. 

Once she left the room, he just stared solemnly down at his coco, just letting it warm his fingers and tinkle his nose with its sweet smell.

He was snapped out of his rumination by the loud creek on the floor, he slowly lifted his head up to see Tyler on the other side of the room shooting his head up towards the stairway with a deer in the head lights look but let out a sigh of relief hearing Mabel loudly calling for the twins to get out of bed followed by their echoed grunts.

Tyler looked over at him and smiled, gesturing with his head for him to follow him. He maneuvered himself off the chair, clinging to his hot chocolate and tensing his shoulders up to keep the blanket in place. Keeping a close eye on the yarn basket next to the rocker trying not to accidentally disturb the half finished sweater hanging from the arm. He too glanced nervously up the stairs towards the Pines family cheerful banter as his foot hit the creaking board and almost considered just staying where the kind old woman had left him. His teeth scraped against his lip and his knee began to shiver as he kept his eyes upstairs but Tyler wasn’t gonna take no for an answer. If he got caught in his mischief, might as well have someone cute by his side to make the punishment practically non existent. 

They tip toed back into the gift shop, a smug little grin half forming on Tyler’s face as he walked past the register he usually perched against distracting an already antsy Dan and he went straight towards a locked cabinet with a large glittery sign reading “Madame Mabel’s potions”.

Fidds stopped where he was, heart pounding faster as he saw what his friend was doing. 

“Tyler…” he rasped out, once more looking behind him expecting the woman’s disappointment in their behavior when she trusted them. 

Tyler paid his worry no mind as he pulled a set of keys from his pocket with the mystery shack’s symbol dangling from the key ring making Fidds eyes bulge a little. He winked at Fidds as he began shifting through the key set trying each of the numerous keys into the lock.

“Dan left them in my car the other night when I gave him a ride home, I don’t intend to steal nothing, I just want a sample of her love perfume.”

“Janice bought a small bottle from Mabel last summer and right before her first date with Greg, she sprayed a little bit on her and you’ve seen them, Fidds, they are the most in love people I have ever seen.”

Some of the anxiety began to melt looking at the starry-eyed gleam shimmering in his eyes cast down at him. His lips curved after a few seconds of silence and he added with a shrug, “Though I think she defiantly added too much. I don’t want Dan to be that clingy towards me…”

Fidds watched him curiously as he dug through the cabinet, taking slow sips of his coco.

Tyler’s smug smile returned to his face as he pulled a beautiful heart shaped perfume vial from the cabinet. He pulled back his sleeve and sprayed a tiny amount onto his arm instantly filling the room with a sweet scent. 

“Just one kiss from your true love and you’re bound forever but you know the spiel better than anyone right Fidds? I saw you eying her demonstration of the stuff last week as well.” 

Fidds face flushed and he averted his eyes away from his friend. His knees began to quake faster feeling that smile boring into him.

“No need to feel shame little buddy, I see the way you look at Ford it don’t take a genius to figure out yer just as in love with him as I am with Dan. We’re both too fools in love.”

Fidds looked away turning redder by the second, fingers tightening around his cup hoping the quakes running course through his system wouldn’t leave a mess on Mabel’s floor. He had been trying for the last few months the Stan twins had taken up residency with their aunt to hide his crush on his best friend but to his utter dismay his blushing and longing stares had not gone unnoticed by anyone. Still, though, he tried to deny it with a sheepish grin and a shake of his head, his fingers tightening further around the mug making him wince a little as the hot ceramic made his bare fingers tingle under the heat.

The action was in vain though, Tyler playfully snatched Fidd’s hand and the second the concoction was sprayed on his wrist, he ended up dropping his glass. 

This was the suspicious scene Stanly Pines entered this story on.

“What are you knuckleheads doin down here?” he scowled at them shaking his head, “You are in for it big time when Grauntie…”

He paused, a smirk creeping past his scowl looking at the bottle Tyler was now desperately trying to keep out of his line of sight.

“What’s ya got there, pal?” Fidds began squirming as that slimy, unnerving grin went from Tyler before landing on Fidds hand being tucked behind his back and the quivers rolling through his body. 

Stan shot forward before Fidds had time to react grabbing him by his and yanking it forward for him to inspect further. His smile kept growing and a few chuckles slipped out as he took a whiff of the aroma there. He pulled away, a grimace settling over his smile and his fingers pinching his nose.

“EUGH!” he exclaimed swiping at the air, “That’s Mabel’s disgusting love potion made with all her girliest perfumes!” 

“I know that smell anywhere! I can’t believe you willingly put it on yourself!”

Tyler slapped his hand over Stan’s mouth, eyes shooting back and forth looking for signs of Mabel coming down stairs. Upstairs she was having a loud argument with Ford on the benefits of bathing but he was arguing he didn’t need to do that since he bathed a few days ago and wasn’t that dirty.

“Stanly, you can not tell yer aunt we stole some of her potions. I heard rumor the last person she stole from…went missing.”

Fidds became stiff, he may not believe Mabel would harm anyone but he couldn’t bear to live in a world where she never wanted to talk to him again and the Pines weren’t part of his life.

“And what’s ta stop me from telling her?” he said that smug grin coming back as he snatched the bottle from Tyler while he was staring at him in his panic.

“Please Stanly!” Fidds began looking uptowards Mabel and Ford arguing upstairs in his panic, “I’ll do whatever ya want, don’t tell yer aunt we was playing with her merchandise!”

Stan rested his thumb under his chin and made a loud humming noise, “I suppose, I could let this one slide, if I get a favor out of both of ya at any time I need something.”

They both took hard side glances at each other, knowing this wasn’t a good thing but ultimately nodded their heads solemnly. Being indebted to Stan was a million times better then breaking Mabel’s heart.

Stan shut up the perfume and locked it up safe and sound by the time Mabel appeared down stairs, her annoyance turning to concern seeing the broken glass Fidds was trying to clean up himself while Tyler stood nervously fidgeting by him and Stan sat whistling on the register absently smacking a bobble head.

She gently took the glass shards from out of Fidds little hands and smiled at him.

“It’s ok babe, don’t worry about this mess it was an accident.”

A tear slowly slipped out at that point. Mabel was so nice to him and he had just broke her belongings and stolen something that cost quite the pretty penny from her gift shop. She paused in cleaning up the mess he had made and pulled him into a hug kissing his head.

“It’s ok, sugar bean,” she whispered rubbing his back, “I ain’t mad about a little mess like this.”

She placed another kiss on his cheek and whispered, “Go get cleaned up now and we’ll leave when you get back.”

Disappearing down the hall to the Employee wash room he heard her hissing at Stan for upsetting him like that and a small argument ensuing. He felt a thick layer of guilt wash over him at that point shutting the bathroom door shut.

Mabel grabbed his hand as they left the shack and the action grounded Fidds, making a small smile grace his lips as she pushed him in the back seat next to Ford. Ford had been pouting since Mabel had made him bathe but Fidds didn’t mind he leaned closer to his friend as Stan pressed himself in the car. He smelled much better then he usually did.

—

Fiddleford’s waning luck ran out very quickly.

The car ride had gone smoothly but arriving on the lake had not gone as smoothly. 

For one, Ford wanted to go explore around the edges around the lake and wouldn’t listen to their begs for him to hang out with them skating on the ice, his nose stuck in a book as he left them too soon.

Fidds would have gladly gone with him and even began to but Stan grabbed him firmly by the scuff of his jacket making a not so subtle reminder that he knew he had stolen from Mabel. He glanced over towards Mabel talking away to his dad who didn’t seem to be paying her any attention and nodded solemly. He never wanted to lose this family, so being away from Ford for a day shouldn’t be that bad. He wouldn’t be that far from view he reasoned seeing Ford plop down in the snow and begin sketching something in his home-made journal and popping the mysterious author’s journal open next to him.

Fidds had been skating every winter since he had moved out to live with his father when he was six and had it to an art. Stan, however, took to the ice like a babe taking their first steps. Clumsy, no poise or grace and maybe a tab bit violently taking hold of Fidds and having him go down with him each time.

He took him down for the third time this afternoon, making him land on his butt and grunt loudly at the bruises he was sure to have in the morning because of Stan’s rough mannerisms.

Thistle Down, was quite the impressive skater though. Jumping through the air with grace and poise even someone who had been doing it for over five years like Fidds would envy. He did a figure eight around where they sat on the ground. Fidds watching in awe, a flush on his face not caused by the cold and Stan staring with a sneer.

“Come on, Stan my man! It isn’t so hard if ya just try a little!” Thistle said with a smug smile skating back over to a cheering group of girls, Carla among them to Stan’s anger.

Fidds glanced over to meet Carla’s glare of disapproval of her friend showing off like that to set off Stan but Stan didn’t notice it as he grabbed Fidds roughly and pulled him down to his level.

“Come on, yer gonna pay me back for keepin’ yer secret by teaching me how to skate away from these losers.”

Fidds had no real way to object so he let Stan lead him away from their friends, Ford disappearing from his line of sight the farther they went making him sigh sadly.

—

Fidds was nervous as he helped Stan skate to the far side of the lake, far away from their friends cheering on Thistle, far away from Ford doing his own expedition making his debt to Stan moot and more importantly far enough away where his dad wouldn’t hear them yell if they ran into trouble. His knees were shaking so bad Stan had to help keep them both from toppling over putting most of the weight on his wobbly legs.

“This should be far enough,” Stan declared grabbing tightly onto Fidds who nearly fell down once more this afternoon and glared at Stan.

“Why did we have to go out so far? We could have practiced where we were at,” he groused with an eye roll, he was already tired having to drag his much larger friend all the way across the lake as he had done.

“I don’t want Carla seeing me fall on me ass, that’s why,” he spat once more dragging Fidds down with him so they could both sit on the icy surface for rest.

“I think she saw that enough while ya dragged us both out here,” Fidds grumbled ignoring the murderous look in his friend’s eyes to look back from where they came, their friends mere outlines now. Ford was all the way back there too, it felt like it was a waste of time for Tyler to have given him a sample of the love potion now, not like he would get a chance to really use it.

“I want to come back over there more skilled then that jerk and yer gonna help me!”

Fidds shook his head, he couldn’t believe he thought he could learn a skill like this in a single afternoon.

He tried to point this simple fact out but Stan refused to listen, thinking he would learn enough, sweep Carla off her feet with his new moves and leave Thistle crying when he was done with him (his description, not Fiddleford’s).

Fidds shook his head and accepted Stan wasn’t going to listen, the sooner he grew bored, the sooner they could return to the others and maybe enjoy the afternoon.

To Fidds surprise, it actually wasn’t terrible being out alone with Stan like this. 

It was rather, dare he say it, fun. Stan was his rough abrasive self as usual, but Fidds rather liked his determination to see through his ridiculous goal. Under all the snark, he was willing to learn, taking Fidds’s hand and even being gentle with him as he began to calm down.

Fidds was smiling brightly when Stan finally learned to balance on his own (giving his own abused back a break) and it only grew as Stan began to skate around him (albeit on shaky legs but without his assistance none the less). 

“Hey, hey Fidds,” Stan called that bolt of enthusiasm passing right from him and shocking Fidds as well as he shakily balanced on one leg, arms awkwardly spread keeping his balance, “I’m finally gettin’ it!”

Stan, unsurprisingly tripped over his own feet soon after but Fidds very happily went to help him get up.

“Hey, Fidds, what’s that over there?”

Fidds tilted his head to see what Stan was referring to but saw nothing, when he said he didn’t see it, Stan rolled his eyes and grabbed him pulling him down completely beside him. Fidds’s butt smacked hard against the ice yet again making the boy scowl towards his friend but Stan didn’t give him time to say a snide remark as he grabbed his head and turned it roughly, pointing his finger out towards whatever he had seen.

Fidds squinted, near sighted as he was he almost missed it completely but as he slid his glasses up from the bridge of his nose where they had fallen back into place, he let out a gasp. Stan let out loud, gruff laugh at his reaction, slapping him on the back and calling him blind before hauling him up with him ‘to go get a betta look’.

Fidds would have been just fine staying where he was but his arguments were caught in his throat and nothing came out but stuttering half made protests.

So along with Stan he went to brave the unknown, the unknown in this case being what appeared to be a large tooth sunk into the lake. As if some creature lost it when trying to eat its last prey on this very lake…

Fidds for once in this afternoon didn’t mind holding onto to his friend as they made their way closer to the protruding tooth.

Fidds held his ground, skidding to a halt before they could arrive in front of the foreign object causing Stan to trip over himself once more bringing Fidds down with him. Luckily for Fidds (and not so lucky for Stan) the fall down wasn’t bruising this time as he landed on top of soft Stan, who growled loudly in annoyance.

He shoved Fidds off him in a huff as he clamored up on to his feet and yanked Fidds up with him who was scowling and content on staying where he was on the ground then going another step farther towards that thing in the ice.

Stan loosened his hold when they rose and shrugged giving a sympathetic side glance to the panic in Fidds eyes, silently telling him to stay behind if he wanted but he was going to take a closer look.

Fidds watched him slide his way across the ice, catching himself from falling on the protruding tooth before throwing a sly smile behind him towards Fidds and letting loose a loud amused whistle that made Fidds’s knee begin to shake and him to lose his balance a little on the ice.

“Grow a pair, Fidds,” Stan grunted touching the tooth, “It’s a tooth.”

“But where did it come from?” Fidds whispered laying his own shaking palm on the tooth, “I don’t like this Stan, we should go back.”

“A dinosaur,” Stan said with a shrug, Fidds highly doubted that running his fingers across the large bicuspid, it appeared to be human. That thought made a shudder run down his spine, something not only dangerous but smart. They would be doomed it returned for its tooth. 

Before Fidds could remark to that, the tooth shifted making them both fall backwards, Fidds landing hard and with a loud yelp.

Another clash hit the ice sending the two flying in the opposite direction. Stan holding tight onto Fidds. Fidds was in full panic, not quite thinking as he tried to scramble away from Stan’s firm grip on him as the monster hit against the ice again. 

The tooth bobbing down making icy cold water splash hard against the two making them cuddle closer together.

Something happened that Fidds wouldn’t be forgetting soon that would be on his mind for the next couple of nights once his panic over this event eased up.

His lips hit against Stan’s, brushing against them and Stan didn’t pull away. He let them kiss, it was odd and rough and not the kiss Fidds had wanted today so he pulled away the second he could.

He turned his head away from Stan who almost looked disappointed but the moment was gone for now.

Their focus instead was on the tooth that suck under the ice and was pulled away by whatever was under there leaving a large hole where the tooth once was.

Without wasting anymore time, they were both up and hurrying back to where they came from.

If Fidds was less panicked about the monster that had just nearly made them his lunch, maybe Fidds would have been more nervous about how tight Stan clasped his hand.

As of now, it was more comforting and felt like the only thing keeping his mind focused and not a blur of panicked, wild thoughts of what may have happened.

—

Fidds was yelling as he made his way back to the other side of the lake Stan at his heels slipping across the lake since he had tossed his skates somewhere to make it across faster.

His pa was the first to grab him, pulling him off the ice.

“Fiddleford Hadron McGucket,” he said sternly, “What in the world has gotten into you boy? And why are ya soaking wet!”

“There…there…” he gasped out teeth clattering too hard for him to really get the words out right, “Was something under there!”

“Under where?” Tate said setting him down and looking him over sternly.

“The Lake!!” Stan screeched flailing his arms around, “We found its tooth….!!!”

“It’s tooth?!” Ford cried out pushing his way into the front of the crowd forming of their friends.

“It was giant!” Fidds squeaked out making his dad give him a stern glare shutting him up instantly. 

Tate McGucket wasn’t a patient man by any stretch and he certainly wasn’t the type to hear out anything he considered ‘nonsense’ or ‘abnormal’ anything that couldn’t easily be explained.

He had enough the second his son came screaming, both he and his friend soaked to the bone in this weather after getting into something they shouldn’t have been into. He was ready to hand out punishment when his son began spinning wild tales a mile a minute about something that wasn’t real to get out of the wrong doing he and his friend had gotten into.

He took his son firmly by the shoulders and shook him instantly silencing his stammered out, incomprehensible wild story.

His look alone told his son he was in trouble but instead of letting it lie, his son continued to dig his own grave.

“Pa…please…pa…ya gotta believe me! There is somethin’ underneath the lake and it almost got me and Stan! We gotta do somethin’….!”

“We aren’t doin’ anything Fiddleford!” Tate hissed shaking him a little harder, “I don’t know what I have to tell you to get you to see, these things aren’t real. They are in yer head boy. You are doing nothing but making yourself sound like a mad man and I will not hear another word of this. March to the house and get yerself into something dry, we’ll discuss this later.”

“But Pa—“

“MARCH!”

Fidds was running towards the house at that, his friends looking towards him with sympathy but none wanting to cross Tate McGucket in this mood.

None but Mabel Pines who never backed down from a challenge.

She firmly told her boys to go check on Fiddleford and chased the rest of the crowd away with a glare as she lead Tate into his office for a talk.

Stan tried to stay and listen but Mabel wouldn’t let him hear a word shooing him off to check on his friend. The only thing he heard was Mabel firmly telling Tate she was taking his son for the evening.

—

Fidds shut the bathroom door tightly behind him, letting out a shaky sob, his teeth still clattering hard as tears just began to fall ungracefully from his eyes. 

He heard the Stan twins hushed whispers about how to handle this situation outside the door way but didn’t respond to them. He didn’t know what to say, their arguing outside in the hallway was just making him feel worse. He brought this out in them. Everything was going ok but he made this situation the way it was by panicking like he always did. By being a coward. They could have had a fun afternoon together, surrounded by their friends that ended well, if he wasn’t always so scared to speak up.

“Stanly, you are an idiot!” he heard Ford hiss to his brother, “Why did you pick a fight with his dad like that!! You know how he is!!”

“At least I am a good enough friend to say something, at all!”

Fidds sank on the floor, holding his hands tight over his ears, grasping at some of the loose hair around his ears. His breathing began to quicken as he heard Ford throw the first punch at his brother and Stan’s cut off swear word.

He felt lost in his own sea of bad thoughts, each harsher with criticism of him then the last. His dad was right, he was crazy. There was something very wrong with him and he just drug everyone around him down with him. Stan could have died because he didn’t protest. Ford was hurt now because he was too cowardly to open the door and tell them to stop fighting. 

His mind started to slow down as he heard Mabel enter the room and command her great nephews go wait for her in the car which there were no objections to.

She wasted no time in wrapping her arms around the young boy and kissing him on the head, assuring him it was gonna be ok. She was here.

The very idea he wasn’t alone was all the comfort he needed he found melting into her strong arms.

—

That night he went home with the Pines and felt warmer then he had in years. After a large dinner with seconds and a heated game of Don’t Wake Stalin (that Stan kept cheating at),

Mabel tucked another blanket around the sleeping boys and then bent down to give Fidds a gentle kiss, running her fingers through his hair coaxing him to go to sleep.

She then whispered, “And remember, sweat pea, if you want free samples in the future just ask.”

Before kissing his now red ears and pulling another blanket around him as well, giving him another kiss on the forehead that she knew he lacked in his life before rising up and turning up the heater before disappearing from the room.

Fidds clung to the edges of the blanket, a smile growing across his face as he fell fast asleep feeling like he belonged somewhere for the first time in his life.


End file.
